Dice-game apparatus



Aug. 13, 1957 szw z 2,802,669

DICE-GAME APPARATUS- I I Filed Nov. 23, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2/ IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. SZWARTZ DICE7GAME APPARATUS Aug. 13,1957

Fild Nov. 25, 1953 United States Patent DICE-GAME APPARATUS Henry Szwartz, Palisade, N. J.

Application November 23, 1953, Serial No. 393,690

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-145) This invention relates to improvements in dice-game apparatus, and more particularly to a die or dice-playing apparatus embodying means for indicating and posting a selected numeral or number of spots on the dice or like game elements to be turned up upon each play.

One of the objects of the present invention is to produce an apparatus for a dice game in which one or more dice may be rolled or thrown by a player through an enclosed chute having a transparent cover, and suitably inclined to provide momentum by gravity, and thence to project the thrown dice into an enclosed display chamber provided with a transparent top and sides and having a horizontal dice-receiving floor disposed below the lower end of the chute for the purpose of producing a tumbling thereof and a turning-upwardly of one face. thereof to disclose, through the transparent top and sides, the result of the throw of the die or dice.

Another object of this invention is to provide a facile means of enabling the selection and posting of one or more of the numbers on the dice which is picked by the player to be the number or numbers that will be turned up on his throw, and preferably to show such previously player-selectednumber or numbers by means of illuminated dice-globes showing on exposed faces thereof the numbers or spots selected by the player and placed in a prominently-exposed position on the apparatus at opposite sides of the chute through which the die or dice are thrown or rolled.

Another object of this invention is to produce an apparatus construction in which the player may be given the dice for manual throwing movement or projection by him into the receiving end of the dice-receiving and projecting element and such element will merely add momentum due solely to a mechanical force, viz., gravitybeyond the control of the operator, and the turning up of a given number may be considered to require skill in throwing or projecting of the dice by the player.

Another object of this invention is to provide a game apparatus having a construction that is simple and may be readily and easily played by the player and set into playing position by the operator.

Another object of this invention is to provide a construction in which any number on the dice which is selected by the player as the number which he will throw may be prominently posted so as to avoid disagreement between the player and game-operator as to the number selected, and comprises a series of electric bulbs having transparent globe elements mounted thereover to enable illumination thereof and each globe having imprinted thereon a given number, and preferably having so imprinted a given number of spots similar to the spots on dice, said bulbs being independently illuminated by a series of electric circuits including switch means for selectively actuating the circuit to a given bulb and globe to enable prominent exhibition of a number that is picked by a player.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the combination of members and arrangement of parts so combined as to coact and cooperate with each 2,802,669 *Patented Aug. '13, 1957 other. in the performance of the functions and the accomplishment of the results herein contemplated, and comprises'in one of its-adaptations the species or preferred form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 shows a fragmentary top plan view of the display chamber showing therein a die after the same has been thrown by the player;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the apparatus substantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 1 showing the tilting of the floor of the display chamber to drop the dice therein into the display chamber for another throw; and

Fig. 5 is a section'on thevline 5-5 of Fig. 2, looking in the directiontof the arrows.

Referring now to these drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, 10 indicates a stand comprising a lower rectangular box-shaped body 11 having at its upper front portion a polygonal chutesupporting compartment 12 having a top portion which comprises a highly inclined support for a dice-projecting element adapted to cause movement by gravity of a die placed thereon and to project the same from the lower end of said supported chute.

Said compartment 12, as shown, has polygonal side walls 13-13 and is provided with an elongated, upwardly extending transverse front wall 12 having at its transverse top edge a channel portion 12 and also, as shown, provided with sectional top portions 13 13 which are spaced from each other to provide therebetween a channel 15' in such upwardly-inclined top portion of said compartment 12. Said compartment 12 extends across the box-shaped body 10 about half the length thereof and is provided intermediate the front and the rear of the apparatus with a relatively short, upwardly-extending rear wall 14 which also forms a wall of the dice-display chamber as hereinafter more particularly specified.

The channel 15' thus extends from the tall transverse wall 12 to the short wall 14 and I support in the tops of said tall and short walls at opposite ends of said channel 15 a chute 15, which comprises a dice-receiving and discharging element that is fitted into the channel 15' intermediate the top members 13 13, supported at its lower end on the vertical lower transverse wall 14, and also supported intermediate its ends in the channel 12 in the upper edge of the tall transverse wall 12 The chute 15 comprises a bottom board or floor portion 15 and two side wall portions 15' adapted to provide between the same a channel 16 which is open at its upper end' 16 to receive the dice, and also open at its lower end 16 to discharge dice received at said upper end. The chute 15 thus provides a channel through which dice are adapted to be moved by the momentum of the players throw and by gravity from a position into which such dice are thrown or placed at the upper end of the chute by the player. Said chute is preferably covered by a glass or transparent plastic plate 17 so that the movement of the dice through the chute will at all times be visible to the player.

Said lower end 16 of the chute 15 discharges dice into a rectangular display chamber 14 positioned rearwardly of the short, vertical, transverse wall 14, which, as aforesaid, provides a vertical drop for the dice discharged from the lower end 16 of the chute, and said short wall 14 preferably comprises one wall of said display chamber 14*. Said rectangular displty compartment 14 has transparent side walls 14, an opaque front wall 14 and has a transparent top wall 18. The floor 14 of said chamber is normally maintained in horizontal position so that dice projected or discharged through the chute opening asoases 3 16 will be clearly displayed in horizontal position on said floor and the top spot or spots on the dice will be clearly visible to the player as more particularly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It will be seen from the above that I have thus provided a dice-receiving discharge element comprising the chute and a dice-display chamber connected with the lower end of said chute and adapted to receive dice discharged through the opening 16 of said chute. Said opening 16 is, as shown, connected to said display channel at the top or upper end of said vertical wall 14 thereof so as to provide a precipitate drop and thus to cause a tumbling of the dice passed through said chute 15.

The display chamber 14 is completely enclosed and all walls thereof, except the floor 14 are preferably mounted in fixed position.

In accordance with the preferred form of my invention, however, the horizontal floor 14 of the display chamber is pivoted at one edge by pivot 19 and the opposite edge thereof is movable downwardly in an arc of a circle, as shown in Fig. 4, thus providing means for dropping the dice by gravity from the display chamber into a drawer or container 20 mounted in the lower end of the box-shaped body portion and provided with a suitable manipulating knob 20 In accordance with the preferred form of my apparatus means is provided on the apparatus to produce a combination sign and selection-posting mechanism, and, as shown, I provide on the inclined shelves 13 -13 comprising the cover portion of the upper compartment 12 a series of indicating elements or members 21, which, as shown, are in the form or shape of dice, six of such dice being shown. Each of these elements 21 is preferably independently illuminated by a small electric bulb or lamp 22 operated and illuminated from independent electric circuits energized from a suitable battery not shown. These lamps 22 are, as shown, each individually illuminated by manipulation of a series of switches, one of which is connected in each circuit and is provided with operating knobs 23 mounted on a suitable panel 24, which in the form shown is positioned at the rear edge of the apparatus to permit ready manipulation by the operator.

In the preferred form of my invention illustrated, the floor 14 is spring-closed and, as shown, a pair of springs 25 is wound around the pivot 19 and abut at one end 25 against the bottom of the floor and at the other end 25 against the floor portion 13 of the compartment 13. Suitable means is provided to enable a downward movement of the floor and a drop of the dice out of the display chamber 14*, and, as shown, a hand operated rod 26 is mounted on the panel 24 and is connected at its lower end with a horizontal aligning rod 26 which extends through a slot 27 in the rear Wall of the body portion 11 of the casing and is connected at its opposite end 26 to the floor 14 This rod 26 moves downwardly in the slot 27 and provides an auxiliary member for moving one edge of the floor 14 downwardly to release and drop by gravity from the display chamber 14 the die after the same has been exposed to the player for the purpose of comparing the number on the uppermost face thereof with the posted member indicated by the illuminated dice on the shelves 13 13, thus providing an empty chamber for a successive throw by the player.

Having described my invention, I claim:

Apparatus for a dice game embodying in combination a support comprising a stand embodying a lower box-shaped body having a polygonal upper portion provided with an inclined chute supporting surface, a dicereceiving and projecting element comprising an elongated enclosed chute mounted in fixed inclined position on said support and having a transparent cover, said chute being provided at one end with a dice-receiving opening and its opposite lower end having a dice-projecting opening, the inclined positioning of said dicereceiving and projecting element being suflicient to cause dice to be propelled therethrough and projected from the dice-projecting opening by gravity, an enclosed dicedisplaying chamber connected with the dice-projecting opening at the lower end of said chute and provided with transparent top and side walls, said dice-display chamber having a horizontally-positioned dice-receiving and displaying floor positioned a sufficient distance below said dice-projecting chute-opening to produce a precipitate drop therebetween, whereby dice passed through said chute will at said drop be tumbled and then be displayed on said floor in said display chamber, said support having an inclined portion arranged adjacent to said chute and said inclined portion being provided with a combination sign and selection-posting means, said combination sign and selection-posting means comprising electric bulbs, means for independently lighting the same and hollow transparent cubical elements positioned around said bulbs and provided individually with a series of spots similar to each of those on a die for indicating and posting a selected number on a die or dice.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 464,915 Slinn et a1. Dec. 8, 1891 1,569,688 Utter Jan."12, 1926 1,729,023 Andrews Sept. 24, 1929 2,193,478 Diebel Mar. 12, 1940 2,255,455 Shertzer Sept. 9, 1941 2,628,839 McNamara Feb. 17, 1953 2,646,986 Mentzer July 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 443,725 Germany May 9, 1927 822,805 France Sept. 27, 1937 

